I’m into it. Saw my first match this weekend at the Rose City Rollers season opener. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I really enjoyed it. I’m still not completely solid on all the rules, but I’ll be back again. Pabst Blue Ribbon is one of league sponsors and they raffled off a Pabst longboard of all things. I was going to snap a phone cam picture of it but I didn’t want all the Burnside locals to croak and then roll over in their graves. Getting back to roller derby… interesting to see the now defunct Rebel Skates still listed as a sponsor. But anyway, go see roller derby! [Photo: Masonite Burn]

December 2010 was a great month on eBay. There were lots of great decks: some classics and some more unusual ones that don’t get seen too often. I’ve left out some of the “classics” this month, because let’s face it. How many more times can I show a PP Lance Mountain Future Primitive? Yes it’s a great, classic graphic, but after a while it gets dull for me to write about, and probably for you reading this. If I see one in a truly outstanding colorway then perhaps I will show it, but otherwise it has gone the way of the Hawk. And I don’t care if it did fetch over $1000, if I’m not excited about showing it then it’s not in here, whether that be due to over saturation or a poor photograph. I often get emails asking why I didn’t feature a certain auction. Normally it’s because the photo sucked. If the photo is super small, fuzzy and has bad color, then it’s not allowed in here. My readers have to be able to look at the deck as well as read about it. That’s part of the deal.

Another skateboard movie made with Legos. It’s got slapstick, chase scenes, sound effect, lavish sets and a garage punk soundtrack thanks to the Beatnik Termites. What more could you ask for? How about surprise twist at the end, or more like another movie grafted on. Still fun. – Thanks to Matthijs for the tip.

Tito from Team Pain sent in some pictures from the Quicksilver All 80’s All Day Vert Challenge, and because some of you will ask, it had a 9.5 foot radius and a foot and a half of vert. Team Pain built the ramp and donated it to Grover’s back yard after the event. Ha ha, just kidding. They did build the ramp though. Photos and a good Quicksilver video recap after the jump. All kinds 80’s faces coming out of the woodwork.

K Mart (Kmart? K-Mart??) has revised their logo again. It’s not visible here, but on the web site. In grade school I had a wicked pair of red nylon running shoes that were the Kmart brand know as Trax, but otherwise… almost every Kmart I’ve been in this millennium seems like it’s two weeks away from going out of business. Mrs Kilwag spotted this sign in a Kmart recently. I’m not sure why you’d have put a skateboard on layaway, especially one you’d buy at Kmart.

Don Gerard, one of my college roommates is running for mayor of the town we went to school in. Champaign is also the town where he grew up. I suppose I should put “college” in quotes because I don’t think we were ever both in school at the same time while we were roommates in three consecutive houses named Ten Shitty Guys. Aside from having the idea to start a zine, I believe it was also Neil’s idea to start a skate rock band. We drafted Don to play drums, pretty much against his will. He was embarrassed by it at the time since he was accustomed to playing in “real” bands. He used to wear sunglasses and a sorority baseball hat as disguise on stage, but I think he secretly enjoyed it. Our first gig as McWilson was opening up for Naked Raygun’s first Champaign, Illinois apperance. It was actually the main reason for our existence. We played a handful of shows and parties after that. We burned bright and extremely short. If you live in Champaign, Illinois, get yourself registered to vote for Don Gerard. Campign commercial after the jump. This whole thing smells like the script for…

I gaped. I couldn’t believe what I’d seen. He’d ridden the wall. I jerked my head around to share with everyone else’s amazement, and no one, not one single person seemed to have even noticed what Christian had done. Stecyk knew though, and said, “You’ve got some catching up to do.” There’s an excellent in-depth interview with Jim Fitzpatrick interview on I Skate, therefore I am blog. It’s five parts long ( 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5) ! Fitzpatrick has seen some interesting times in skateboarding, including being involved in two hugely influential companies like Makaha and Powell Peralta, and spearheading the fight to have skateboarding classified as a hazardous activity. For those of you who scratch your head at that one, it’s one of the reasons that municipalities don’t have to carry massive skateboard-specific insurance riders for skateboard parks. Because, as an inherently dangerous activity, the rider assumes a certain amount of risk while engaging in the activity. The interview covers other aspects of Jim’s life as well, from surfing to being a Montessori school teacher. There’s even a Surf Punks reference. Definitely worth reading if you enjoy learning about key figures in skateboarding history.…